How to remove folding closet doors. Removing a folding door can take quite some time. Most of them are hollow, so they do not weigh an awful lot.
They do, however, require a little bit of effort when you come to remove them from their place in the house.
But with one or two extra pairs of hands helping you with the process it should be over and done within only seconds.
To make sure removal happens as quickly and easily as possible, it’s important that you’re always fully aware of how these doors work because then you’ll be able to spot things like handles or hinges and know exactly what to go for next.
How to remove folding closet doors
Folding doors are a great space-saving solution and not just for closets. However, sometimes it’s necessary to remove bifold doors, whether for maintenance or permanently.
While this may seem intimidating, the basic procedure for most folding doors is straightforward.
Depending on your strength and the door mechanism, it may be necessary to enlist another person in order to safely remove the door but it typically only takes one person to do so.
An Overview of Folding Door Mechanisms
A bifold door is made up of two folding leaves that pivot on a vertical hinge attached to the floor and ceiling, against the door jamb.
The nominal portion of the leaf nearest to the jamb is fixed, while the outer portion pivots upon a horizontal pin near its lower edge that fits into a socket in the head of another pin below.
The upper pin is spring-loaded so that when lifted manually by a control rod, it can lock into place at any level along its length, arranged either horizontally or vertically.
Safely removing a bifold door
If you have to lift and tip a 36″ pair of doors, seek assistance because they’re quite heavy. Don’t risk injuring yourself when raising them on their hinges. You can follow these steps if you’d like:
Open the doors
You should open the pair of doors (if it is a double door) when there is one person attempting to open it.
Have one person hold onto the closet side of each door as you pull them apart, not allowing the doors to separate completely.
Lift the doors
Lifting up the top of the two hinges should allow the bottom to swing open. You won’t be lifting it very far, just a few inches.
Once the bottom is loose, simply push it toward the center of the closet to get it out of your way.
Rotate the door out of the opening
The majority of bifold doors can be tilted from the inside, so you don’t have to open the whole thing.
Just tilt the door out of the opening, since it will prevent the floor from being scratched.
If you don’t have a lot of space, then using a slight angle when tilting will allow for more clearance.
Be careful though, because if you tilt a tri-fold door it will scrape against the wall and could potentially tear the folding portion right off of it.
In this case, it would be better if you are away from walls or other structural objects, otherwise, they could easily get damaged.
Make sure that your door has been properly leveled in order to avoid any mishaps when folding it up against walls or sliding it into place overhead.
It shouldn’t hit against anything hard like appliances or cabinets either as this may lead to cracking.
How do I remove a folding closet door from its track?
Removing a bifold closet door from its tracks begins with moving the outside door first and then the central door. Using both hands, carefully lift the door up off of its track.
Once you’ve lifted it away, tilt the door towards you until it releases its position on top of the lower rail. From there, pull at the bottom of the door to remove it completely from its track.
How do you remove closet doors from the top track?
To remove the closet door, begin by lifting the top hinge (located on the right side of the hinge) and sliding it out to release the tension this will make sure the door doesn’t fall off while you are pulling it out of its track.
Once this is done, lift up one end gently and pull it toward yourself keeping a 35-degree angle as you do so that way it isn’t as at risk of falling over.
When it starts to come to lose from its upper track, it will then be safe to remove both parts of the door.
How to remove folding closet doors
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